Radiation oncology research received 197 grants, totaling only 1.6 percent ($85.5 million) of the $5.4 billion in cancer research funding from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) in Fiscal Year (FY) 2013, according to a study available online and in the June 1, 2013, print issue of the International Journal of Radiation Oncology • Biology • Physics (Red Journal), the official scientific journal of the American Society for Radiation Oncology (ASTRO).

The National Lung Screening Trial (NLST) was a National Cancer Institute sponsored trial that began in 2002. This randomized controlled trial examined more than 50,000 patients who were classified as being at high risk for the development of lung cancer — they had smoked at least 30 pack years (one pack per day for 30 years or two packs per day for 15 years); they were between 55 and 74; and they were either current smokers or former smokers who had quit within the past 15 years. The trial aimed to see whether screening with low-dose computed tomography (CT) improved outcomes over screening with chest radiography. It was halted early in October 2010 when a 20 percent mortality benefit was observed in the low-dose CT arm. 

Advanced visualization software continues to make surgical planning more efficient and accurate as technology advances. Surgeons can map out procedures based on images from computed tomography (CT), magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and positron emission tomography (PET) exams, among other types of digital imaging and communications in medicine (DICOM) modalities. The images allow physicians to see areas of interest from multiple angles, and isolate various structures, organs and vessels that are of interest in a matter of minutes. This advancement in technology has increased physician interaction and provided an opportunity for enhanced patient education that was not previously available. 

We are witnessing a new era in proton therapy research, with an unprecedented number of clinical studies under way. For three decades, research has focused heavily on pediatric tumors and tumors of the brain, spine and prostate, establishing that proton therapy is efficacious, enables precise targeting of tumors permitting higher doses of radiation with few short- and long-term side effects, and maintains a high quality of life for patients.[1-9] The treatment also has been shown to reduce the likelihood of treatment-related malignancies.[10] Researchers now are exploring the clinically meaningful benefit of proton therapy in diseases of high incidence, particularly lung and breast cancer, where the precision and limited side effects can provide effective treatment with significant long-term benefit to the patient. Initial results prove hopeful, especially for lung cancer, which remains the No. 1 cancer killer of both men and women.[11]